Disease

[RAD51_HUMAN] Defects in RAD51 are a cause of susceptibility to breast cancer (BC) [MIM:114480]. A common malignancy originating from breast epithelial tissue. Breast neoplasms can be distinguished by their histologic pattern. Invasive ductal carcinoma is by far the most common type. Breast cancer is etiologically and genetically heterogeneous. Important genetic factors have been indicated by familial occurrence and bilateral involvement. Mutations at more than one locus can be involved in different families or even in the same case.[1] Defects in RAD51 are the cause of mirror movements type 2 (MRMV2) [MIM:614508]. A disorder characterized by contralateral involuntary movements that mirror voluntary ones. While mirror movements are occasionally found in young children, persistence beyond the age of 10 is abnormal. Mirror movements occur more commonly in the upper extremities.[2] [BRCA2_HUMAN] Defects in BRCA2 are a cause of susceptibility to breast cancer (BC) [MIM:114480]. A common malignancy originating from breast epithelial tissue. Breast neoplasms can be distinguished by their histologic pattern. Invasive ductal carcinoma is by far the most common type. Breast cancer is etiologically and genetically heterogeneous. Important genetic factors have been indicated by familial occurrence and bilateral involvement. Mutations at more than one locus can be involved in different families or even in the same case.[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Defects in BRCA2 are the cause of pancreatic cancer type 2 (PNCA2) [MIM:613347]. It is a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. Tumors can arise from both the exocrine and endocrine portions of the pancreas, but 95% of them develop from the exocrine portion, including the ductal epithelium, acinar cells, connective tissue, and lymphatic tissue.[23] Defects in BRCA2 are a cause of susceptibility to familial breast-ovarian cancer type 2 (BROVCA2) [MIM:612555]. A condition associated with familial predisposition to cancer of the breast and ovaries. Characteristic features in affected families are an early age of onset of breast cancer (often before age 50), increased chance of bilateral cancers (cancer that develop in both breasts, or both ovaries, independently), frequent occurrence of breast cancer among men, increased incidence of tumors of other specific organs, such as the prostate. Defects in BRCA2 are the cause of Fanconi anemia complementation group D type 1 (FANCD1) [MIM:605724]. It is a disorder affecting all bone marrow elements and resulting in anemia, leukopenia and thrombopenia. It is associated with cardiac, renal and limb malformations, dermal pigmentary changes, and a predisposition to the development of malignancies. At the cellular level it is associated with hypersensitivity to DNA-damaging agents, chromosomal instability (increased chromosome breakage) and defective DNA repair.[24][25][26] Defects in BRCA2 are a cause of glioma type 3 (GLM3) [MIM:613029]. Gliomas are benign or malignant central nervous system neoplasms derived from glial cells. They comprise astrocytomas and glioblastoma multiforme that are derived from astrocytes, oligodendrogliomas derived from oligodendrocytes and ependymomas derived from ependymocytes.[27]

Function

[RAD51_HUMAN] Participates in a common DNA damage response pathway associated with the activation of homologous recombination and double-strand break repair. Binds to single and double stranded DNA and exhibits DNA-dependent ATPase activity. Underwinds duplex DNA and forms helical nucleoprotein filaments. Plays a role in regulating mitochondrial DNA copy number under conditions of oxidative stress in the presence of RAD51C and XRCC3.[28][29][30] [BRCA2_HUMAN] Involved in double-strand break repair and/or homologous recombination. Binds RAD51 and potentiates recombinational DNA repair by promoting assembly of RAD51 onto single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). Acts by targeting RAD51 to ssDNA over double-stranded DNA, enabling RAD51 to displace replication protein-A (RPA) from ssDNA and stabilizing RAD51-ssDNA filaments by blocking ATP hydrolysis. May participate in S phase checkpoint activation. Binds selectively to ssDNA, and to ssDNA in tailed duplexes and replication fork structures. In concert with NPM1, regulates centrosome duplication.[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]

Evolutionary Conservation

Publication Abstract from PubMed

The breast cancer susceptibility protein BRCA2 controls the function of RAD51, a recombinase enzyme, in pathways for DNA repair by homologous recombination. We report here the structure of a complex between an evolutionarily conserved sequence in BRCA2 (the BRC repeat) and the RecA-homology domain of RAD51. The BRC repeat mimics a motif in RAD51 that serves as an interface for oligomerization between individual RAD51 monomers, thus enabling BRCA2 to control the assembly of the RAD51 nucleoprotein filament, which is essential for strand-pairing reactions during DNA recombination. The RAD51 oligomerization motif is highly conserved among RecA-like recombinases, highlighting a common evolutionary origin for the mechanism of nucleoprotein filament formation, mirrored in the BRC repeat. Cancer-associated mutations that affect the BRC repeat disrupt its predicted interaction with RAD51, yielding structural insight into mechanisms for cancer susceptibility.